What was lost, is found
by CSIflea
Summary: Mac finds something he had lost unexpectedly. What will happen now? How will it change Mac's life?
1. Chapter 1

**Well, I started this story with a friend of mine (Sneakyflea) and she decided to give it up. I am going to go on with the story, with a few changes here and there. This is different to what I usually write, but there will be some action later on. Enjoy.**

The door flew open with a cry of "NYPD" that echoed through the warehouse. Two men ran towards the back, followed closely by Detective Flack and Detective Taylor. Footsteps sounded along the ground as the suspects tried running away from the two detectives chasing them.

The detectives were at a disadvantage as they were quickly lost in the maze of rooms and passages. After a few minutes of chasing, Flack ran into Mac.

"Damn bastards got away!" Flack panted slightly.

"Don't worry, they were surrounded," the optimist that was Mac Taylor answered, also slightly out of breath. They radioed their position and made their way back to the front, keeping a guarded eye on their surroundings. The case was plain and simple: they were investigating a drug smuggling ring that led them here, to the warehouse. Problem was, they didn't see any drugs. They would have to look for it. Mac looked over at Don who was looking at the rows of rooms. These rooms were clearly not part of the original warehouse and were built recently.

"What do you think are in these? Think the drugs are in here? " Flack asked motioning to the rooms.

"I don't know, let's find out shall we?" Mac said walking to one of the rooms and reaching for the door handle. He glanced at Flack who was covering Mac from behind. He opened the door and shined his flashlight, illuminating the inside.

Mac drew a sharp breath as his flashlight fell over two women huddled in the corner. Flack swore softly and moved away to call in their find and request an ambulance. Mac made his way inside, speaking softly and showing his hands in front of him, hoping to come across in a non-threatening way.

"Hi, my name is Mac. I'm here to help. I won't hurt you." He took a step forward after bending down to put his gun on the floor. The older of the two women pushed the younger one behind her and eyed him suspiciously. He went down on his knees and took his badge off the chain around his neck and showed it to them before shoving it across the floor. The girl picked it up and looked at it. A look of relief crossed her face and she took a tentative step towards Mac.

Mac stood his ground, not making any sudden movements at all. The younger girl threw herself at Mac latching onto him like he was a lifeline. He cautiously put his arms around the small girl and stood up holding his hand out to the bigger girl- she took it, still looking at him suspiciously. They walked out and, with some effort, Mac handed the girls over to the paramedics. Other girls were coming out of similar rooms. Mac now realised that they were dealing with something much bigger than drug smuggling. They had unearthed a human trafficking ring.

Only one room remained. Mac and Don moved towards the room and opened it cautiously. The room was different from the others. This one had a bed, where the others didn't, and there was a small bed-side lamp casting light into the small room. Mac walked into Don as he stopped suddenly.

"Don? What the….?" Mac said as he walked around the stationary detective. He looked at the woman and he froze. It couldn't be.

He glanced at the two small children clinging to the woman's legs and he knew immediately who their parents were. He looked into their familiar eyes and glanced at the woman again, she looked scared and surprised, but relieved at the same time. Don put his hand on Mac's shoulder as he took a step forward. His breath caught in his throat and his voice was hoarse as he choked out one word. The woman's eyes widened in shock. A small tuck from one of the scared children by her side caused her to bend down to whisper something in the young children's ears.

Both looked scared, but broke into a smile and looked at Mac shyly. Mac spoke again, but it sounded like a strangled sob as he took another step forward. Don tried to hold him back, but the woman moved forward at the same time reaching for Mac. Both needed to make sure the other was real. They clung to each other as the little boy nudged the girl forward. The woman reluctantly let go of Mac and turned to the small kids. The girl flung herself onto Mac and the boy held out his hand; Mac shook his hand solemnly, still not believing his own eyes. When he came on this raid, he had not expected to run into this woman. Not to mention the fact that there were children involved now. For more than 10 years he had thought his wife was dead. The biggest regret was that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye and now that had changed. He would find out why they were here and how she was captured and he will find the bastards responsible.

Don turned around to give them some privacy and to see how the released women were holding up, leaving Mac to reconcile with Claire. Taking his phone out he made some calls, they were going to need help.

**Like I mentioned, not really my type of story, but I want to try my hand at a fluffy story. I find Mac and Claire fascinating and would have loved it, if they had found her alive after all. Let me know what you think. Once again, thanks to my beta, for making this readable.**

**Recognizable characters belong to the show. The rest is mine, all mine…**

**Till next time,**

**Flea…**


	2. Chapter 2

Mac stood by the door of the warehouse, staring at the ambulances as they loaded the people into the back to take them to the hospital. Social Work was going to have a very busy weekend. His eyes travelled to the last ambulance. The red-haired woman was sitting on the stretcher and holding the little ones' hands while they were being checked out by the paramedics. The boy looked at him and a smiled formed on his dirty little face. Instinct made him smile back. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see the worried eyes of Jo.

"Hey," he said and turned back to see the woman on the stretcher looking at him. He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She smiled back and leaned down to listen to something the little girl next to her said.

"Hey. Who is she?" Jo asked. She's seen pictures, but found it a little confusing to look at the woman who everyone had thought was dead. Even Mac seemed shocked.

"Claire," Mac's said as his voice broke a little. "She says she's Claire. She looks so much like her. And the little ones, they both look like her, too." He shook his head. Jo pulled him into a hug; he hugged back and stepped away after a minute.

"We should make sure. DNA should tell us for sure," Jo said.

"Danny took a sample and I've already called Reed. He's going to the lab." The paramedic waved him over. He nodded and turned to Jo, "Can you take over here? I want to go to the hospital with them."

"Sure, no problem." She squeezed his shoulder and with that he jogged over to the waiting ambulance and got into the back. Jo watched as he took the woman's hand and as the little boy got onto his lap. She couldn't hold back a laugh at the shocked look on Mac's face.

"Looks weird, but cute," a voice said behind her. She turned and found Lindsay looking at the strange sight in the ambulance.

"Yeah, it is. Let's just hope that things work out for him. He won't make it through another slap from life," Jo said sadly. Lindsay just nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile at the lab, Danny was busy running the DNA sample with his mind a million miles away. He jumped slightly as Reed tapped him on his shoulder.

"Crap!"

"Sorry, Danny. I did call you," Reed said, and Danny didn't miss the look of hope in his eyes.

"That's okay. It was my own fault." He moved to grab a second chair for Reed. Reed sat down and nodded his thanks.

After a beat of uncomfortable silence, Danny asked, "Are you ready?"

Reed nodded and suddenly looked very nervous. Danny grabbed a swab and took the reference sample.

"How long will it take?" Reed asked, still nervous.

"Not long. It's only a comparison," Danny explained as he entered the sample. "Let's grab a coffee while we wait." Reed followed him to the break room.

"What if it matches?" Reed asked quietly after Danny got them coffee from the machine.

"Then you have a lot of catching up to do," Danny said. He felt sorry for the boy in front of him. Reed came looking for his mom, found his step-father, and became part of all of their lives and now he was faced with the possibility that his mom might still be alive after years of thinking she was dead. With all those thoughts running through Danny's mind, he began to worry about Mac. It couldn't be easy for him either. For twelve years he had to live with the fact that the love of his life was killed – he didn't even have anything to bury. Now he had to come to terms with having a wife and children. But before Danny could go on with his train of thought, his pager went off, telling him the comparison was done.

"Come on, let's go. Let's see if you have a second chance with your mom," Danny said getting up, a silent Reed followed.

When Don arrived at the hospital he found Mac in the waiting room, looking worried.

"Hey, Mac!" he said as he walked closer.

"Hey," Mac answered as he looked at Don. He seemed to be in a daze.

"Are they ok?" Don asked, pointing his thumb in the direction of the exam rooms.

"What? Oh, yeah. They are. Just a little malnourished and dehydrated. They are keeping them overnight as a precaution." Mac sounded a little confused.

"Mac, are you ok?" Don asked worriedly.

"You know, for the first year after The Towers fell, I kept hoping. I hoped that maybe, hopefully, somehow, I'd find her. That maybe she was injured and couldn't get in touch. After a while I lost that hope, waiting instead for a body or proof that she was gone. Then when that didn't happen, I gave up. Later she was declared dead. I refused to hold even a memorial service, because that would mean she was really gone. Now, twelve years later, she's alive and I don't know how to handle it. What do I say? How do I act?" Don sat listening to one of his oldest and best friends and it hit him how scared Mac was at that moment – an emotion he has never associated with the man.

"Do you love her?" Don asked quietly and laughed as he saw the glare Mac shot his way.

"Of course I do! What kind of a question is that?" Mac scoffed. Suddenly he sat up as his phone went off. He opened the text and began to smile. He turned to Don and smacked him so hard on the back that Don almost fell off his chair.

"Good news I take it?" He smiled at the pure joy in Mac's face.

"Danny and Reed are on their way. The sample was a match for mother and son." Mac was almost jumping out of his skin. Don just looked at him – that same blank expression he had when they spoke about science.

"Don, it means that she really is Claire. And yes, I love her more than my own life. I need to go to her." Mac suddenly looked lost again and Don chuckled as he got up and took Mac by the arm and walked him over to the exam room, where Claire was waiting with her children. He laughed as Mac walked in and hugged Claire. He didn't miss the look of love and fear on his friend's face as he looked at the red-haired woman. Don went back to the waiting room to wait for Reed and Danny.

A little while later, Mac was sitting on the bed next to Claire. He just couldn't get enough of staring at her. She smiled and took his hand.

"You really have to stop staring at me," she joked. He looked over to the next bed where the two children were sleeping.

"There's so much missing, it might take a while to catch up. Right now though, I just want to make sure that you don't go anywhere," he said, "all three of you."

"Glad to hear it, I don't want to go anywhere. Little Lewy can't stop talking about how cool you are and Annie, well she's in love with her Daddy."

"Lewy?" Mac asked looking over to the boy- the boy looked so much like him, it was uncanny.

"Short for Llewellyn," she smiled as realization dawned.

"You named them after me and your mother?" Mac asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, they've got two names each. Llewellyn Conrad Taylor and Annie Macaela Taylor. Parts of both of us." Claire looked at her children and then back at her husband, "Is that ok?"

Mac smiled at his wife; happy to start with the second chance they've been given. "More than ok, it's perfect." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips.

Neither of them noticed the team standing outside the window, all happy to see the new found family. Reed had tears in his eyes as he looked to his mother and step-father. He felt blessed and sent up a prayer of thanks for this chance.

**What do you think? A lot of people read the first chapter, but only one review? It's ok though. So? Should I go on? Or do you think I should leave it like this? Let me know.**

**Thanks to C. Nicole for the beta work. I don't own any of the main characters, just the story and the kids.**

**Till later,**

**Flea **


	3. Chapter 3: Let's go home

Mac couldn't take his eyes off of Claire's face. She was sleeping with her head on his shoulders; he was holding her like he would never let go. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the knock, but looked up as Reed cleared his throat.

"Hey," he said softly not wanting to wake up the sleeping woman and kids.

"Hey," Reed greeted.

"How are you holding up?" Mac asked, knowing that it was as much of a shock to the younger man as it was to him.

"Uhm… OK, I guess. It's overwhelming, to say the least," Reed answered, looking at the woman in Mac's arms.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Mac said, his eyes finding the sleeping face once again.

"It's just so unbelievable." Reed said with a smile.

"You have a chance to meet your mother, and I get a second chance to spend time with my wife," Mac said so softly that Reed had to strain to hear him. He smirked as he heard Mac's words.

"You forgot my brother and sister," Reed said, walking over to the sleeping twins.

"Yeah, that's a scary thought. I just hope that I can be a good father to them." Mac looked a little scared as he said the words. He looked at Reed before looking over to his children.

"Well, I don't hear Danny and Lindsay complaining. You've been a great Godfather to Lucy." Reed turned towards the door, but had something else to say, "These last couple of years, you've been like another father to me, and if that is anything to go by, you'll make a great father to my brother and sister."

Mac could only stare at the young man's back as the door closed.

CSI NY

Soft crying woke Mac up sometime later. He couldn't even remember falling asleep. Looking for the sound, he found that it came from under the bed. Carefully, he untangled himself from Claire, not wanting to wake her up, and crouched down. The sight before him tore through his heart.

In the corner, huddled together, with tears streaming down their faces, were the twins. They were clinging to each other as if the world would come to an end if they let go.

"Hey, guys," Mac said softly, trying not to frighten the kids even more. The only response, however, was more whimpering and the kids clinging harder to each other. Mac sat down on the floor and scooted against the leg of the bed, out of reach of the scared kids, but still in eye range.

"You know, if you had a nightmare, we can always switch on the light. I'm sure the nightmares are scared of light," he said conversationally, looking at his fingers. His keen ears picked up a soft shuffling, but he didn't look up. Instead he kept up the one-sided conversation in a soft tone.

"Then we can make a nice, big fort - right here on the floor and get your pillows and blankets, because mom won't be happy if you guys get a cold. Seeing as I just got mom back again, I don't want her mad at me so soon." The shuffling came closer and Mac took a chance and saw two pairs of ocean-coloured eyes looking at him. Tear stricken faces shone with hope as Annie tentatively reached out a hand towards Mac's. He turned his bigger, stronger hand so that she could place her smaller one in his. She climbed onto his lap and he wrapped his arms around her, surprised at how easy it was to let them into his arms and heart.

"Can we….*sniff* …..really built a fort?" Lewy asked in a soft, shaky voice.

"Sure we can." Mac shifted Annie a little to make space for Lewy and the boy didn't waste time by joining his sister, "All we need are some blankets and the pillows and we have more than enough of that. Want to help me?" Two heads nodded, but neither made a move to get off. 'Okay' Mac thought, 'I can do this.' An unexplainable fear shot through his mind as he realised that he had a job ahead of him, one that he didn't have training for, one that would cost him a lot should he fail, but he also knew that, in this job, he would gladly give his life to protect the precious treasures on his lap…

CSI NY

The early morning sun woke Claire up the following day and it took her a couple of minutes before she realised that she was free – she'd gotten her life back. She knew that _they _would try and get her back; Demetri would never give up that easily, but at least she had Mac to help her now. He would protect them, she knew it. Thinking of Mac, she looked around looking for him, but couldn't see him anywhere. Fear shot through her as she saw the empty bed next to her.

'_Where are they?' _she thought scrambling to get out of bed. She whirled around as the door opened behind her. Claire came face to face with one of Mac's team, a brown haired woman with a pretty face and sympathetic brown eyes. When she spoke, her accent was Southern.

"Good morning, honey. Sorry if I startled you," the woman spoke.

"Morning, uhm no, you didn't, not really. Have you uh….. have you seen Mac?" Claire asked, not caring that her voice was all shaky.

"No, I haven't, not until now actually," she answered, pointing to the floor.

"What?" Claire asked, confused.

"I think I see part of him." She moved over to the bed and putting her finger to her lips, took out her phone and took a snapshot. Claire moved over to see what she had seen and couldn't help but smile at the picture in front of her. Mac was lying on his back on the floor, partially hidden under blankets, half under the bed with the twins on either side of him. He had his arms around them and they were peacefully sleeping.

"More blackmail pictures," the woman said as she straightened up.

"More?" Claire asked as she made her way back to her bed, still keeping an eye on the woman in front of her.

"Oh my goodness, where is my manners? My name is Jo Danville, I'm Mac's partner." Jo extended her hand to Claire.

"I'm Claire. What happened to Stella, if you don't mind me asking?" Claire asked in a soft voice. The two women spoke in soft voices, to avoid waking up the sleeping trio.

"Well I'm glad to meet you. And no, I don't mind you asking. Stella got a better opportunity in New Orleans. She is head of the crime lab there," Jo answered, her smile never wavering. Before Claire could answer her, the door opened again, this time admitting two men. One had curly, reddish-brown hair and the other one was blond with glasses.

"Hey, uhm can we come in?" The blond haired man asked and Claire nodded. She was a little nervous, but recognizing them from the night before, she knew they were part of Mac's team.

"These clowns are part of the team, this is Danny and that one is Adam." Jo introduced the two men and they each offered a nod and a smile.

"Where's Mac?" Adam asked.

"He's still sleeping," Claire answered. She noticed the three people exchanging looks and then smiling. Jo pointed to the other bed and Claire watched in fascination at the scene unfolding as the two grown men crept around the bed- Adam with his phone ready. After a click and a flash, giggles erupted.

Those were quickly stopped when a quiet voice said, "If you wake the kids, you'll scrub the lab with a toothbrush." Claire laughed as she saw Adam turn pale at Mac's words. He stammered an apology and basically ran out the door, mumbling something about coffee. Jo and Danny joined in the laughter as Mac stood up stiffly. He bent down and first picked up Annie and gently laid her down on the bed, followed by Lewy. He made his way to Claire and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"What were you doing on the floor?" Claire asked with a smile.

"They had nightmares, so we built a fort," Mac answered with a shrug. The people in the room laughed. Claire looked around and saw the bond between these people as the conversation started up again. She joined in occasionally as first Danny, then Jo told Claire stories of Mac, making her husband blush and glare at the two of them. Later they were joined by Lindsay and Don, who brought breakfast. The rest of the team also came and introduced themselves as they had breakfast. Claire looked around and couldn't help but feel blessed.

Maybe just maybe things would all work out.

CSI NY

Mac grabbed the small overnight bag that Lindsay had brought earlier. He looked at his newfound family. Claire was getting the kids ready to leave and they were practically bouncing off the walls. The only thing they knew in their short little lives was captivity and now they were going to see a whole new side to life. Mac smiled at the ideas running through his head; he was going to spoil them.

"What are you smiling at, dad?" a small voice asked suddenly. 'Dad' was another thing he had to get used to. It was something he had hoped to have one day, but had given up on ever having. He looked down into the blue eyes of his daughter and gave her a smile.

"Nothing, sweetie. I was just thinking," he answered and was engulfed in a hug as her small arms barely made it around his waist. He bent down and hugged her back. They were joined by another pair of small arms as little Lewy also joined in.

After a while, Mac untangled himself from the kids and stood up, finding Claire looking at them with tears in her eyes. He reached out and pulled her in for a hug.

"My turn now?" she asked in a choked voice.

"Yeah, as many times as you want, because I am never letting you go again," Mac said, hugging her closer.

"Oh, Mac," Claire breathed as she fisted his jacket.

"Let's go home," Mac said to his family as he led the way out of room 255 A.

CSI NY

Two men walked into the hospital. They were going up to room 255 A. There was a woman that they needed to get back, but first they had to get rid of her pesky husband. Then they could teach their pet not to mess with them…

**A/N: Hey there; I have to say I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter, but we had end of term tests and I've got almost 200 papers to mark. Besides, the issue with my one shots kind of put me off writing for a while. But don't fear; I'm back! This chapter was difficult to write as I am not very good at fluff, the fun will start next chapter.**

**Thanks to my beta for her help and patience, the people of Fleasia are in your debt. **

**Oh, these guys don't belong to me; I'm just playing with them.**

**Let me know what you think,**

**Flea…**


	4. Chapter 4: Demetri

**Warning: Some spoilers if you squint….**

The Taylor family walked out of the hospital accompanied by Don Flack. They didn't notice that they were being watched. Two men stood to one side as the family walked past and swore at their bad luck, not getting to them earlier.

"I need to call the boss," one of them said as he left while, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

He returned a couple of minutes later and joined his friend.

"So, now what?" the other man asked.

"We go hunt ourselves a detective, Ray. That's what now," he answered.

"I knew I liked you for a reason, Justin," Ray smiled as both of them headed for the door, neither of them aware of the woman that followed or the feral smile on her face- showing she heard their conversation. She hurried to follow the two idiots while sending a text message to her friend.

CSI NY

Mac opened the door to his apartment and moved inside to let his family follow. _His family_. He loved the sound of that. He smiled as he saw that someone had packed away his artefacts. He led the way to the spare room to see two beds instead of one. There was a whole bunch of new furniture and he knew that he owed Danny and Lindsay big time.

"Wow! Look mom! Two beds; we don't have to share anymore," Lewy shouted excitedly while running to the bed with the blue covers. Annie jumped with her brother, but walked to the 'pink' bed a little more slowly than her brother. Mac smiled as he turned to look at Claire, but the smile quickly dropped from his face when he saw her eyes bright from unshed tears.

"Why don't we leave these two to finish their exploration and we'll go see our room?" Mac suggested softly. Claire nodded and walked out of the room. Mac walked over to the kids who were still staring at their surroundings in awe.

"Ok, guys, mom and I are going to be just down the hall, ok? If you need anything just come and call us," Mac said as he sat down on Lewy's bed.

"Dad?" Annie asked and climbed onto the bed to sit on Mac's lap.

"Yeah?" Mac answered as he adjusted the little girl and looked into her eyes, which were so much like his own.

"Will we have to go back there?" Annie asked, with a slight touch of fear in her voice.

"Annie, this is your home now. You don't ever have to go there," Mac answered seriously. Sadness washed over him as he realised that these two kids had only seen the bad side of life, in the short time they'd been on this Earth. He silently vowed to make their lives as easy as possible.

"Dad? If we are bad will you have to hurt mom?" Lewy asked with a serious look on his small face. Mac felt his anger rise to unimaginable levels.

"I promise both of you now, that I will never hurt mom, no matter what, ok? And while we're on the subject, I want you guys to remember that you can ask me anything you want, and I will do my best to help you," Mac said, making eye contact with both kids and getting solemn nods from both of them.

"Alright, so I am going to see where mom disappeared to," Mac said as he gently placed Annie on the bed, "and the two of you can explore all your new things." He hugged Lewy and Annie as the two kids flung themselves into his arms. With a smile, he closed the door a bit and walked down the hall to find Claire sitting on the bed.

"Hey," he said softly, not wanting to startle her.

"Hey," Claire answered her voice thick with unshed tears.

"We don't have to do this now," Mac went to sit next to her and she threw her arms around Mac, burying her face in his shoulder and cried. Mac just held on as tight as he dared, rubbing his hands soothingly over Claire's back.

"I never thought I'd get to do this again," he said softly.

"Me neither," Claire answered and straighten up; she looked up into Mac's eyes and saw the love in them that she had missed so much.

"We can wait until you're ready, we don't have to do this now," Mac repeated.

"No, if I don't do this now, I will never do it," Claire said with determination in her voice.

"Ok, go for it then. Just remember that you can stop anytime you want to and that I am here through it all," Mac said just as the doorbell rang. "That must be Lindsay." He got up to open the door.

"Hey, Mac," Lindsay said, "I'm going to leave Lucy with the twins, if that's ok?"

"Hey, Lindsay, that's fine. I'm sure they'd like to have some friends and Lucy is perfect. Uhm…I think we are ready for you," Mac said, leading the way into the bedroom.

"Hi there, Claire. I want you to know that you can stop anytime and we can take this slow. There is no rush, ok?" Lindsay asked, settling herself into the chair Mac had brought in.

"That's fine, Lindsay, I just want to get this over and done with," Claire answered.

"Ok, why don't you tell me everything you can remember and I'll ask if there is something I don't understand?" Lindsay asked.

"Alright. Well, in the confusion of _that_ day, I didn't see them coming. I think there were three of them. They grabbed my arms and shoved me into a van not too far away. I can't tell you how they managed to get out of the chaos. They had a bag over my head. It felt like we drove for hours without stopping. When we eventually did stop, it was dark. I was so scared. The planes had hit the tower just like that; there was no warning and then this. They tied my hands behind my back. It had to be a house where I was taken to because I remember hearing the door slam. The man identified himself as Demetri, but told me to call him master. He said that he didn't want to hurt me, but that I would be punished if I dared escape or disobeyed them. He explained that he only took me as revenge; he didn't want anything else to do with me. Mas...Demetri said that he would hurt Mac if I tried to leave. I couldn't let them hurt you, Mac, I'm sorry; I didn't want you to get hurt." Tears were streaming down Claire's cheeks as she told of her experience, she had started by holding Mac's hand, but was now fisting his jacket in her hands as she cried. Mac looked at Lindsay and with a small nod she left to give them privacy.

"Shh, its ok, its fine. I'm here," Mac tried to soothe Claire.

"I'm fine, can we go on?" Claire asked after a while and Mac got up to call Lindsay back in. After the trio got settled again, Claire continued with her story.

"They kept me in a dark room most of the time, only took me out to tend to the many girls they had or if they needed a maid. When I found out I was pregnant, Demetri was furious. He slapped me around a few times, but cooled down before he could do anything horrible. The months that followed were pretty much the same, we moved a lot and I'd get updates on you. They sent me pictures, newspaper articles, everything to remind me that I had to be kept in line. When the kids came, things were a little different. I had someone to help me, but they never lasted long. The kids joined Mac on the list of people to be hurt if I misbehaved. I knew that I had to find a way to get out of there, but with the twins it wasn't easy and I didn't want to get them to get hurt. For years it went on, I guess I always knew that Mac would find me, even though I knew that he thought I was dead. One day I tried to help a little girl that was raped, I tried to get her away from them. The kids were about five or six. They found out, I don't know how, but they almost beat the girl to death. They took Lewy and Annie away and told me I would never see them again. Demetri hit me a couple of times, I think I broke a rib or two falling down some stairs."

Mac held on to Claire as she cried and his eyes flashed in anger as he heard what his wife had to go through at the hands of this Demetri. Claire took a deep breath and continued with her eyes fixed on her lap.

"The following day they brought a picture of Mac. He got hurt in an explosion, I don't know what happened, and they just said that it was my fault."

Mac sucked in a breath; he clenched his jaw so hard it hurt. He took Claire's hand in his and gave a squeeze, silently

"That was the last time I ever tried to help or get away. They brought the twins back after a couple of days, but it was enough to convince me. As the years went on, they never touched me sexually, but Demetri and a few of the others would slap me or punch me if I didn't do what they wanted me to or if the kids misbehaved. One or two guards sometimes took pity on us and would bring something nice for the kids and a toy or two. The day of the raid, the majority of the girls were going to be sold to someone and the only place was here in New York. Demetri wasn't too worried about Mac finding me, he said that Mac had given up and moved on. There were a couple of pictures with different women, some I recognized, but others I didn't know. We were going to leave again the next day; I was hoping that Mac would find us… I started telling the kids about him and showed the kids his picture. I was going to make them run and find him…" Claire stopped talking and leaned towards Mac.

"I think that it's enough for now," Lindsay said as she got up. Mac nodded and got up to follow Lindsay to the door. Claire's voice stopped them.

"Please stay for coffee? It's the least I can do for you helping me," she said softly.

"It's not necessary, but thanks. I would like to get to know you better, I want to know which powers you possess that got Mac to fall for you," Lindsay said with a wink.

Mac just laughed as he went to the kitchen, leaving the women to start chatting. He looked in on the kids and saw them playing happily. He started the coffee maker and took out the mugs, once again making a mental note to thank Danny and Lindsay for getting the house ready.

His phone beeped, signalling a text. Just then, the two women walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, I know that look," Lindsay quipped.

"Yeah, that was Danny. New evidence was found in the Williams case; I need to go, he needs my help," Mac said, emotions warring on his face.

"Go," Claire said, "Lindsay is here and maybe I can get some stories about you from her."

"Oh yeah, I have a lot of stories for you," Lindsay winked.

"Oh, boy," Mac said, "I'm out of here. Sheldon is going to come around, so I'll leave as soon as he gets here."

The coffee maker signalled its completion and the three sat down and talked while they waited for Sheldon.

CSI NY

Mac hurried out of the flat as soon as Sheldon showed up. He decided to walk instead of taking a cab, seeing as he lived close by and it would be much faster. He was about halfway to the lab when he sensed someone behind him, but before he could react, strong hands grabbed him and pulled him into the alley. He tried to shout out, but a piece of duct tape covered his mouth before he could. His hands were pulled behind him and he could see the outline of a man in front of him. It was a couple of seconds before the man in front of him spoke.

"Detective Taylor, I have a message from my boss. He sent me to tell you, that you have made a huge mistake and for that you must pay. The warehouse that you raided and the merchandise you set free cost him quite a bit of money. Worst of all is you took his little pet away from him; and I must tell you, he is not a happy camper." Mac struggled against the hands that held him, cold fury racing through his veins. His struggles were quickly stopped when the man in front of him punched him twice in the stomach, hard enough to leave him weak in the knees.

"I am not done yet, asshole. I am to inform you that you have two days to bring our pet back; you can keep the brats, and they were a nuisance from the start. We will call you again in two days with the time and place of the exchange. Before we leave though, my boss said we could have a little bit of fun, not too much mind you. So, Ray shall we?"

With that, the two thugs started beating Mac all over his body, his vision greyed as he fell to the ground in a boneless heap. Just before he completely blacked out, he heard one of the thugs whisper in his ear, "Demetri sends his regards." And he fell into a dark chasm.

CSI NY

Danny walked into the flat after Sheldon opened the door to the sound of kids playing.

"I thought I'd find you here," he said as he gave Lindsay a hug, not knowing about the meeting from earlier.

"Yeah, I thought it would be nice to meet Claire and see how the kids got along. As you can see, Lucy absolutely loves Annie, she follows her everywhere." Lindsay pointed to where the kids were playing in a corner of the living room.

Just then, Claire walked in carrying a tray with mugs on it.

"Oh, hi, Danny. I didn't know you were here," she smiled at the younger man as she placed the tray on the coffee table. "Help yourselves. I'll just go grab another mug." With that she left.

"So, where is Big Mac?" Danny asked, surprised to find Mac away from Claire. At the hospital, he had barely left her side to go to the bathroom.

"What do you mean?" Sheldon suddenly asked. Danny looked at him, almost seeing the blood leave his face.

"Where is Mac? I thought he was glued to Claire's side," Danny said with a frown on his face.

"Danny, Mac isn't here," Lindsay said, getting off the couch where she had been sitting.

"What? Where did he go?" Danny asked, confused.

"To see you at the lab," Sheldon said, just as Claire walked back into the living room.

"Did Mac come home, too?" Claire asked before Danny could answer, she looked from Danny to Sheldon.

"Guys, Mac isn't at the lab," Danny said.

"What do you mean?" Sheldon asked, "Danny, he got a text from you saying you needed help on the Williams case."

"Sheldon, that case was solved last week. By Mac himself, I might add," Danny answered.

"He said that new evidence came to light that _YOU_ found and wanted him to look at," Lindsay said. She walked over to Claire who had frozen in the doorway.

"I did no such thing. That case was solid." Danny also noticed the frozen Claire and moved to help Lindsay get her over to the couch.

"I'm calling Don," Sheldon said and left the room.

"Where is Mac?" Claire asked.

Danny and Lindsay looked at her and then exchanged a glance with each other. This was not good, not good at all.

**Ok, so here we go. A little later than what I wanted, but I hope it was worth the wait. I just cannot stay away from whump for too long, so my muse brought some evil guys back from Fleasia. Anyway, for one or another reason, this story is not very popular so I might not go on with it for too long. I would still like to hear from you.**

**Thanks again to my wonderful beta, C. Nicole. Who is not only good at editing my mistakes, but also very patient.**

**Till next time, Flea**

**PS – New York Nightmare update next**


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